Beyond The Shield: Reassessing The Boundaries Of Parliamentary Privileges In India’s Constitutional Framework
- IJLLR Journal
- May 23
- 1 min read
Srijani, Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, Technical Campus
ABSTRACT
Do parliamentary privileges serve as a tool to quell opposition or as a safeguard for democratic discourse? Parliamentary privileges, which have their roots in colonial history and are protected by the Indian Constitution, were created to guarantee the legislature's independence and uphold the honour of democratic institutions. These advantages are not unqualified, though. These privileges' unrestricted and frequently ambiguous scope has sparked worries about their abuse. The distinction between required immunity and impunity is becoming hazier in the current political environment because legislative privileges are occasionally used for purposes other than those for which they were designed. The legal and constitutional foundation of parliamentary privileges is critically examined in this paper, with an emphasis on how it interacts with fundamental rights like the right to free speech and expression. It examines the conflicts that exist between judicial supervision and legislative immunity, raising the question of whether parliamentary privileges give the legislature the authority to act outside of its constitutional bounds. The lack of codification allows for the arbitrary application of certain privileges, which is another issue raised in the study. This article argues for a revision of parliamentary privilege that upholds contemporary democratic norms where responsibility follows authority and transparency triumphs over tradition through historical background, case studies, and legal research.
